Seeing eye sheep… and pickles

Just to let us know that sheep and goats are far more than providers of fibre for us yarn enthusiasts, this in from Reuters:

Michelle Feldstein was prepared to provide special accommodations for the blind horse she recently added to the flightless ducks, clawless cats and homeless llamas inhabiting her animal shelter in Montana.

But nothing could prepare her for the 40-legged, seeing-eye entourage that accompanied “Sissy,” a sightless, 15-year-old quarter horse.

“Sissy came with five goats and five sheep — and they take care of her,” said Feldstein, the force behind Deer Haven Ranch, a private rescue facility she runs with her husband, Al, on 300 acres north of Yellowstone National Park.

The seeing-eye sheep and guard goats are never far from the white mare, and they never lead her astray. They shepherd Sissy to food and water, and angle the horse into her stall amid blowing snows or driving rains.

“They round her up at feeding time and then move aside to make sure she gets to the hay,” Feldstein said. “They show her where the water is and stand between her and the fence to let her know the fence is there.”

The full published story is here. But there are more questions to ask. Instinct? Training? History?

Any theories?

And, in an abrupt change of subject, something to share from Opal and Earl in Brian Crane’s Pickles: